- October 29, 2024
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The Palm Coast City Council indicated June 9 that it would support increasing the fire impact fees 64% for residential and 108% for nonresidential, to ensure that new development is paying for its share of increased costs of the Palm Coast Fire Department.
Consultants explained the process to the City Council at a workshop, with the result that the one-time impact fee would increase from $223.38 to $367 for residential; it would increase from about 28 cents to 59 cents per square foot for nonresidential. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the increase in two hearings: June 16 and July 7.
City Councilman Eddie Branquinho supported the increase. He pointed out that the Fire Department is asked to provide a high level of service for residents: They respond to calls within seven minutes 85% of the time.
“If we are going to ask them to do that, we can’t forget that we’ve got to give them the human resources and the material resources to do that,” Branquinho said. “Our city is growing. There are certain needs that come with that. … I think it’s a little sacrifice in order to be safe.”
He also said that quick response times help residents save money on fire insurance.
City Councilman Nick Klufas said he hopes the fees can be revisited if there is a significant downturn in the real estate market, and the consultants said the fees could indeed be revisited.
Fire Chief Jerry Forte pointed out that after the previous recession, impact fees were reduced to spur development.
“If we raise the rates, we know we’re capturing today’s (market reality), but we always have the ability to go back,” Forte added.
The impact fees can be used only to expand firefighting capability, not to repair or replace existing capability. For example, an old truck can’t be replaced using impact fees, but a new truck could be added to an existing station. A new station could also be built with impact fees.
